Another stoush between Australian forward Mark Worthington and New Zealand's Casey Frank erupted soon afterwards, before more fireworks in the final quarter which led to Dickel being marched.

Dickel launched at Boomers rookie Matthew Dellavedova before Australian skipper Matt Nielsen then stepped in, pinning Dickel to the court before all players got involved and a flurry of technical fouls resulted.

But when the heat rose, the Boomers cooked - channelling anger into energy for a six-minute late third-quarter rampage which ultimately decided the match.

Patrick Mills (right) in action for the Boomers against New Zealand. Photo: Vince Caligiuri

Worthington thrived on the drama, tipping in 13 points for the match and providing much of the late third-quarter offensive spark, and guard Patty Mills a team-high 20 points.

Nielsen was excellent in the second quarter as the match swung in the balance, while Joe Ingles and Brad Newley also did their bit in a grafting all-round effort.

Tall Blacks star Kirk Penney was exceptional for his side, with a game-high 30 points - 16 in the first half as they trailed by just two points.

Officials from world basketball's governing body FIBA confirmed with Basketball Australia late yesterday night there would be no further action taken against Dickel, who will be eligible to play in Friday night's second match of the best-of-three series in Brisbane.

Both the Boomers and Opals now need just one more win in the series - either in Brisbane on Friday night or Sydney on Sunday - to book their spot at next year's Olympics.

But unlike the Opals - who clearly have room to improve on their 77-64 win over the Tall Ferns earlier in the night - the Boomers were shown they will have to scrap every minute if they want to book their ticket for London.